Lock.



.W. A. RATGLIFF.

LOCK.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 9, 1912.

1,076,994, Patented 0012.28, 1913.

72 /6 tor. 7% drug COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH 60.. WASHINGTON. D. c.

WILLIAM AUGUSTUS RATCLIFF, OF BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON.

LOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 9, 1912. Serial No. 719,318.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WIL IAM AUGUSTUS RAToLrrr, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Bellingham, county of VVhatcom, and State of lVashington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Locks, of which the following is a full, true, and exact specification.

The principal object of this invention is to improve and simplify the construction of locks having a plurality of keys, and means for showing the key which last operated the lock, such as shown and described in my Patent No. 1,037,531.

In the accompanying drawings Figurel is a front View of my improved lock. Fig. 2 a vertical sectional view upon the line y g of Figs. 1 and 3, looking from left to right of Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a cross sectional View substantially upon the line zr-a: of Fig. 2, with the key removed. Fig. 4 is a top plan view. Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of a register wheel retaining means.

The reference numeral 1 designates the outer casing which is preferably cast solid in the form as shown, and machined, as will be later described. The body 1 is adapted to be passed through a suitable opening through a door so that the left hand surface of the flange 2 comes flush with the surface of the door. when suitable wood screws may be passed through the openings 3 to fasten the lock to the door. The cylindrical portion 4 of the body 1 is bored longitudinally thereof to receive the solid cylinder 5 which snugly fits but revolves within the said bore. The cylinder 5 may be in one piece but for convenience in manufacture and assembling I prefer to split the same into two equal parts, as best shown in Fig. 3, and join the parts by means of the machine screws '6. Extending longitudinally through the cylinder 5 is the keyway 7 in which fits the key 8, presently to be described. The body 1 is bored through from the bottom and to within a short dist-anceof the top, as at 9, which may be very cheaply accomplished by the use of a suitable jig and multiple drills. The cylinder 5 is also bored as at 10, the channels 9 in the casing and the channels 10 in the cylinder 5 being of the same diameter and normally in alinement with ea h r, Figs- 2 and 3. \Vithin those portions of the channels 9 which lie above the cylinder 5 are slid ably contained the pins 11 above which are the springs 12. l/Vithin the channels 10 in the upper portion of the cylinder'5 are the short pins 13 which are slightly less in length than the depth of the channels 10 so that when Patented Oct. 28, 1913. i

the key 8 is withdrawn the springs 12 presslng against the pins 11 cause the short pins 13 to descend to the bottoms of the channels 1.0 which brings the top surfaces of the short pins slightly below the plane of the cylinder 5 and allows the lower ends of the pins 11 to project into the channels 10 which locks the cylinder 5 against rotation. A series of keys is used and each bears a symbol and the top edges of all the keys are provided with uniform notches and teeth 14 which when any of the keys are in place in the lock, cooperate with the lower ends of the pins 13 to raise the same sufiiciently to force the pins 11 out of the channels 10 which allows the cylinder 5 to rotate as shown in Fig. 2. Within the channels 10 in the lower portion of the cylinder 5 are the plugs 15 below which are the pins 16. The right hand plug 16 is pressed upwardly by the spring 17 which bears against the threaded pin 18 which closes the lower end of one of the channels 9. The right hand pins 15 and 16 are shown in their normal positions in Fig. 2, the lower end of that pin 15 being just flush with the periphery of the cylinder 5 thus allowing the latter to rotate. The left hand pins 15 and 16 however as shown in Fig. 2 are held in retracted position by the lower edge of the key 8, and while in this position the lower edge of the left hand pin 15 is just flush with the periphery of the cylinder 5 which leaves the latter freeto rotate. The leaf spring 19 constantly presses the left hand pin 16 upwardly. This plug 16 is cut away (Figs. 2 and 5i leaving the fiat face 16 to which is secured a light leaf spring 16 which normally presses against the teeth of the wheel 21. Upon the right hand pin 16 are the rack teeth 20 which mesh with the pinion 21 secured to the shaft 22, upon which is the pinion 23 which meshes with the pinion 24: secured to the shaft 25 upon which is also secured the register wheel 26 upon the radial face of which are the numerals O to 9, as shown. Through the key end of the casing 1 is the sight aperture 28 through which are displayed one at a time the figures upon the register wheel 26. Brojecting from the left hand end of the cylinder 5 is the hook 28 which coope ates with the staple 29. In the lower edge of the key 8 is the notch 30.

From the foregoing it is believed that the construction and operation of my device will be fully understood by those skilled in the art. Before the key 8 is thrust into the lock the right hand pin 15 is in the position shown in Fig. 2, but, as the key is thrust in, the forward beveled edge thereof depresses the right hand pin 15 until the top thereof is in the same plane with that occupied by the left hand pin 15 as shown in Fig. 2. The inward thrust of the key 8 being continued the left hand pin 15 is depressed into the po sition shown in Fig. 2 which carries the leaf spring 16" out of contact with the wheel 21 and so holds the same until the key 8 reaches the limit of its stroke when the right hand pin 15 is allowed to rise into the notch 30 (Fig. 2). The pins 13 have now been raised by the upper edge of the key 8 so that their top surfaces are just flush with the periphery of the cylinder 5, which upward movement of the pin 13 has caused the pin 11, of course, to rise out of the upper recesses 10 in the cylinder 5 which leaves the cylinder 5 free to rotate, which may be done by means of the key 8 to disengage the hook 28 from the staple 29. As the key 8 is being withdrawn from the lock the right hand pin 15 is again depressed to the plane of the lower edge of the key 8 and so held by the lower edge of the key until the latter has passed far enough to the right to allow the left hand pin 15 to rise which brings the leaf spring 16 into contact with the wheel 21 and holds the same in that position after the key 8 is entirely withdrawn. The last downward movement of the right hand pin 15 has depressed the right hand pin 16 which, through its teeth 20, wheels 21, 23 and 24 has caused the register wheel 26 to rotate one-tenth of a revolution and has brought the figure 1 upon the register wheel into register with the sight aperture 27 (Fig. 1). Thekey 8 being stamped with the figure 1,. it follows that key No. 1 was the last used 7 to open the lock. The depth of the notch 80 in the lower edge of the key 8 determines the movement of the right hand pin 16 which in turn governs the degree of rotation of the register wheel 26 and each of the keys has a notch of different depth from any of the other keys of the series.

.lVhile I have shown a particular form of embodiment of my invention, numerous changes therein are possible without departing from the spirit and scope thereof and 1 do not therefore desire to be limited to the exact form shown and described.

.Vhat I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination in a lock of a casing, a cylinder revoluble within said casing, means for locking said cylinder against rotation with relation to said casing, means for locking said cylinder to the jamb of a door or the like, a key-way, projections into said keyway, a symbol -bearing register wheel, connections between said projections and said wheel, a symbol bearing key, means on said key adapted to unlock said cylinder from said casing and means on said key cooperating with said projections into said key-way whereby said wheel is caused to rotate and display a symbol corresponding to the symbol on the key.

2. The combination in a lock of a casing, a cylinder revoluble within said casing, looking pins in said casing projecting into openings in said cylinder to lock the same against rotation with relation to said casing, means for locking said cylinder to the jamb of a door or the like, a key-way in said cylinder with which said openings communicate, intermediate pins in said openings and beneath said locking pins, a second set of openings in said cylinder communicating with said key-way, pins in said openings, a register wheel, a numbered key, operative connections bet-ween said wheel and said last men tioned pins, means upon said key adapted to actuate said last mentioned pins whereby said register wheel is caused to rotate and hold in display a number corresponding to the number upon the key, and means upon said key to actuate said intermediate pins whereby said locking pins are caused to rise out of engagement with said cylinder.

3. The combination in a lock of a casing cast in one piece, a horizontal channel through said casing, a' cylinder revoluble within said channel, means for locking said cylinder to the amb of a door or the like, a key-way in said cylinder, vertical channels in said casing communicating with said hori- Zontal channel, channels in said cylinder communicating with said key-way and adapted to normally register with said vertical channels in said casing, intermediate short pins in said channels in said cylinder, locking pins in the upper portions of said vertical channels in said casing which normally project into the channels in said cylinder to lock the same against rotation, a second set of channels in said cylinder norir .lly registering with the lower portions of sa d vertical channels in said casing and which communicate with said key-way, pins in said second set of channels in said cylinder, pins in the lower portions of said vertical channels, a register Wheel, asymbol bearupon said key, and means upon said key ing key, connections between said registeradapted to raise said intermediate pins and 1-0 ing wheel and said last mentioned pins and said locking pins.

means upon said key cooperating with said lastmentioned pins whereby When said key WILLIAM AUGUSTUS RATOLIFF' is Withdrawn from said key-Way said regis- Witnesses:

ter Wheel is caused to rotate and hold in dis- FRANK W. RADLEY,

play a symbol corresponding to the symbol ALMA KLU'ETER.

copies of thil patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

